Quick Tip: Enjoy your Desktop

Posted in: Tips & Tricks, blog by Jack on 24 February 2010 | No Comments

Most of us who spend a fair amount of time working on a computer appreciate our desktop. We decorate it with a picture of our kids, our significant other or maybe just an image that relaxes us when we aren’t working.

Where's Waldo?

Then we start adding shortcuts to programs and websites, installed programs install an icon on the desktop and soon our image is buried beneath a bunch of distracting images. When there’s no organization to the desktop shortcuts it often takes longer to find the icon you want there than it would be to simply open the Start menu.

Here’s a tip that I’ve used for quite a while that both frees up your desktop image and makes finding program shortcuts easier and quicker.

The first step is to right-click on the desktop and choose View, then uncheck the option to Show Desktop Icons.

Now you have an uncluttered view of your desktop.

Next, right-click on any open space on the taskbar (to the right of the Windows Start button), select Toolbars and select Desktop.

Now you have a pop-up menu of every icons and its associated program on the taskbar.

One last step adds a degree of organization to your Desktop menu.I’ll use my personal method as an example. You can organize your menu to meet your needs.

Using Windows Explorer, I open the Desktop folder. I right-click anywhere in the window and select New then select Folder (do not select NewFolder in the first window). I then create folders for Apps, System, Games, Office, Reference and so forth. Finally I left-click on each icon and drag it to an appropriate folder.

Being more organized increases efficiency. Being able to enjoy your desktop image may relieve stress. I’d say either of those is a good reason to get rid of your disorganized desktop today.

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Troubleshooting tips for refilled ink cartridges

Posted in: Tips & Tricks, blog by Jack on 10 February 2010 | No Comments

Image via Wikipedia

Reusing ink cartridges benefits both the environment and your pocketbook, but there can occasionally be an issue with a reused cartridge that causes it to not give out ink or fail to be noticed by your printer.

The following tips are generic and may not apply to your particular printer. If the cartridges you purchase from us are not performing to your expectations and the following suggestions either don’t work or don’t apply, please call us for specific solutions to your problem.

“My printer says the cartridge is low on ink or empty when I first put it in.”

Some printers are able to detect a cartridge that has been in another printer. This ability is provided by the software in the printer and cannot generally be over-ridden. The electronics on the reused cartridge isn’t resetting the page counter in the printer, and that page counter is the only way the printer has to know how much ink the cartridge contains. You can usually ignore these warnings of low or no ink and print normally. You will have to monitor the quality of your prints to know when the ink cartridge is running low since the printer won’t warn you. To dismiss these warnings, click the “OK” button until the dialog box goes away. Sometimes checking the “Don’t display this dialog again” option in the warning window will prevent the printer from popping up the same warning every time you start to print.

“My cartridge seems to have dried out and won’t print properly even though I’m sure there’s still ink in it.”

The first thing to do in these cases is to run the printer’s built-in cleaning process. You shouldn’t run it more than once as it uses a lot of ink. If that doesn’t produced the desired result, take a paper towel and slightly dampen it and place it on a surface that won’t be discolored or damaged by ink. Tile is a good surface. Hold the cartridge with the print head against the paper towel for about a minute. Since water is a larger molecule than ink, you should start to see a bloom of ink form around the print head. This is the water wicking out the ink. Usually this is enough to moisten the print head and get the ink flowing again if the only problem was ink dried on the print head. If the cartridge still isn’t printing correctly, bring it back to us and we’ll either fix or replace it.

“I bought the right cartridge for my printer but it doesn’t fit.”

We get a phone call like this about once a week; it’s not as rare a problem as you might expect. The usual cause is the failure to remove the tape and/or clip from the cartridge prior to installation. We use a very light adhesive tape over the printhead  on black inkjet cartridges to protect them from damage or even the casual touch and we combine the tape with a plastic clip on color cartridges. The clip is intended to prevent color mixing at the printhead and to keep air from getting into the printhead. When removing the tape, be sure to only remove the light adhesive tape. Do not attempt to remove the brass electronics strip that constitutes the printhead. This will guarantee the cartridge can never be used again. We like to say that if you can’t remove the tape with your fingers, you’re probably trying to remove the wrong thing. Pliers are not required to remove the tape.

“My photos look dull using your cartridges.”

First, make sure you aren’t printing photos in “draft” mode. Check the settings in “printer properties” and be sure you have “Best” or “Photo” selected for the print quality. Second, for the best possible results using our cartridges, be sure you’re using the photo paper recommended by your printer’s manufacturer. Inks are formulated to work with certain types of photo paper. Saturation and drying time are particular to the recommended paper. Printing photos on ordinary copy paper will result in dull colors and saturated paper.

For the very best results when printing very important photos, we recommend you use the manufacturer’s paper and ink. Because we have to manufacture our ink using different components than the OEM ink to avoid legal complications, we cannot make the same claims as the manufacturers do about photo quality and longevity. Our inks are not archival quality inks, and that, usually combined with acid-free paper, is required to attain the promises made by the manufacturers as to photo quality and their claims that their ink won’t fade for 100 years.

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Caring for your cartridges

Posted in: Tips & Tricks, blog by Jack on 21 January 2010 | 3 Comments

Caring for your laser cartridge:

• Leave it in its packaging until you’re ready to install it in your printer
• Do not touch the drum or rollers with bare hands
• Do not store laser cartridges where they’ll be subjected to high humidity or direct sunlight
• Do not drop cartridge
• Store laser cartridges flat if at all possible

Caring for your ink cartridges:

• Leave cartridges packaged until you’re ready to install them in your printer
• Remove only the plastic clip and light-adhesive tape covering the print head. Do not remove the brass strip
• Do not touch the brass strip or the printhead with bare hands
• Store ink cartridges away from heat and direct sunlight. Ink, being a liquid, can dry and/or evaporate
• Store ink cartridges in an upright position with the label on top
• Ink tanks (Epson, Canon, HP 02) should be replaced as soon as possible. Leaving the top of the printhead exposed can lead to air getting into the printhead or the ink drying inside, both of which can damage the printhead
• Bring in cartridges for refilling as soon as possible. The longer they sit empty, the more likely the ink left inside will dry and make refilling more difficult
• On empty color ink cartridges, replace the plastic clip that came with it. This will help keep the printhead from drying out

And finally, don’t throw away any ink or laser cartridge. Even if you don’t purchase your cartridges from us we’ll gladly recycle your empty cartridges for you.

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Improve network speed with DNS

Posted in: Tips & Tricks, blog by Jack on 6 January 2010 | No Comments

If you have a home or office network you have probably noticed that on occasion a webpage will load slowly or you may even get a time-out message in your browser. Sometimes this may be caused by an overload of internet traffic on a particularly busy server, but other times it is most likely the result of a poorly configured DNS setting in your router.

If you’re not sure what this is all about, DNS (Domain Name Servers) are servers scattered throughout the world whose job it is to translate human readable domain addresses into machine readable addresses. In the early days of the internet, to reach google.com you would have to type 64.233.183.106 into the address window of the browser. Every website had its own particular address, and they still do. Web servers, the computers where webpages are stored and “served” to you and I, cannot understand words, only numbers. Web servers have no idea what yahoo.com means, but they know where 69.147.114.224 is. You can prove this by typing 69.147.114.224 into the address window of your browser. Domain Name Servers take 69.147.114.224 and translate that into yahoo.com strictly for the benefit of us humans. Comodo explains the purpose and functionality of DNS well here.

In a router there’s a setting for DNS. Usually the default settings will be those of your ISP (Internet Service Provider) like Cox or AT&T, but they may also be whatever default DNS addresses the manufacturer chooses to use.

Whenever you click a link or type an address into a browser, the first stop for that electronic packet is a DNS server (I know, that’s redundant). The server will translate the typed address into a machine readable one. If that DNS server is too far away from you, you’ll notice the connection is very slow or may even time out. So the ideal situation is to have the DNS listings in your router be servers as close to you as possible. You do not have to use those provided with your router or by your ISP. There are several alternatives, one of which may speed up your browsing because it’s closer to you.

Google has entered the DNS provider ranks with their Public DNS, 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. Needless to say this has raised security concerns over Google having access to our searches and web browsing.

Comodo offers their SecureDNS (156.154.70.22 and 156.154.71.22) and OpenDNS has been around for a while (208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220).

To determine which DNS server is fastest at your location may I recommend Steve Gibson’s Domain Name Speed Benchmark.

Font selection effects ink conservation

Posted in: Conservation, Recycling, Tips & Tricks, blog by Jack on 19 December 2009 | No Comments

Did you ever think that the font you select to print with could effect the number of pages a cartridge can deliver?

Obviously printing a great deal of bold characters on a page will use more ink, but it is also true that the font you use may consume more ink than another font.

Matt Robinson, in collaboration with Tom Wrigglesworth, found a unique way to illustrate the amount of ink each popular font uses. Granted, they are using ink pens to conduct their experiment, but the results are equally applicable to inkjet printing.

A selection of the most commonly used typefaces were compared for how economical they are with the amount of ink which they use at the same point size. Large scale renditions of the typefaces were drawn out with ballpoint pens, allowing the remaining ink levels to display the ink efficiency of each typeface. (Source-matthewrobinson.com)

Click through for images.

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Printing holiday photos

Posted in: Tips & Tricks, blog by Jack on 23 November 2009 | No Comments

As tempting as it may be to print out a few of these for the holidays, we strongly advise against it. Image by Getty Images via Daylife

There are several factors to consider when it comes to printing out those photographs taken during the holidays. I’d like to offer a few thoughts on some of those factors in order to help you decide how best to accomplish your goals.

It may surprise you to learn that we don’t always recommend our cartridges for all printing jobs. Say you have a few pictures taken around the Thanksgiving table or under the Christmas tree that you want to frame and want to display for years to come. Most major manufacturers have what they call archival-quality ink and promise that it will not fade under normal circumstances for up to 100 years. We don’t make that claim about our inks. For pictures that you want to have last as long as possible, we suggest you follow your printer manufacturer’s recommendations as to which ink and paper to use. Most recommend an acid-free photo paper and archival ink.

Most of us though aren’t taking pictures we expect to last forever. We may shoot 50 pictures or so at Thanksgiving and 100 or so at Christmas and all we want to do is print out the best of those to share with family and friends who may not have computers. For this sort of printing, our cartridges coupled with quality photo paper should work just fine. Be sure to use the proper side of the photo paper as only one side is intended for printing, usually the brighter or shinier side. Be sure, too, to allow ample time for the ink to dry on photo paper. Because less ink is absorbed into photo paper, it takes a few moments longer for it to dry. On most modern printers, resetting the paper type in your printer preferences to “photo” will cause the printer to slow down when printing, allowing extra time for the print to dry before being fed out of the printer.

You may also want to save paper by printing several images on a single sheet of photo paper. Again, this is an adjustment you can make in printing preferences. Most printers can place 4-6 images on a single sheet in either portrait or landscape orientation.

Please feel free to contact us with questions about photo printing during the holidays.

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Keep it clean

Posted in: Tips & Tricks, blog, laser by Jack on 20 November 2009 | No Comments

The number one cause of premature death in electronic devices is heat. The primary cause of heat is poor ventilation, a lack of airflow over the electronic circuitry. Lack of proper airflow is usually caused by improper maintenance and cleaning.

Allowing dust to build-up on fans and in ventilation ports prevents air from circulating properly, leading to excessive heat and an early death for electronic circuits. This is true for nearly every electronic device we use on a daily basis. Television sets, monitors, modems, routers, computers and even printers are all subject to overheating and early death if their ability to cool their electronic components is thwarted by dust-clogged ventilation ports and dirty fans.

It’s a good idea to wipe the dust and dirt off the exterior of a device’s ventilation ports at least once a month, more often if the device is in an especially dusty environment. Use canned air to blow dust off of fan blades and electronic circuits. Use a toothpick to hold the fan blades still while cleaning them. It’s not always good to allow the fan to spin up to a speed faster than usual when blowing it of with canned air. This can damage the motor and gears. Also, try to always blow toward the outside of the device. You may be creating further problems if you blow the dust and dirt into the case and onto the other components.

By keeping your electronic devices clean, you allow them to keep themselves cool and extend their lives as long as possible.

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Keep it clean…and be safe

Posted in: Tips & Tricks, blog by Jack on 23 September 2009 | No Comments

Did you realize that failing to keep your electronics clean could actually impact your security?

Back in the ’70s I was fortunate enough to work in both law enforcement and national intelligence. Both taught me that often the most useful intelligence or evidence comes from the most mundane sources. This was in an era when electronic door locks were the height of technology. We would frequently amuse ourselves by guessing the passcode of a door based solely on the wear pattern of the keys.

People tend to be unaware of just how often they type their password (and too many people only have one password for all their online activities) every day. On light-colored keyboards, the keys used most often become more soiled and more worn than other keys. On dark-colored keyboards, the most used keys become shiny. By looking for the most worn, dirty and shiny keys on a keyboard, I can get a reasonable idea of which keys you use to type your password. This method isn’t foolproof nor does it guarantee I would be able to guess a complex password based on which keys were used the most, but it does provide a means of making it easier for me to reconstruct your password.

Users of the iPhone and iPod touch that password protect their devices have a similar problem. The face of the device retains finger impressions clearly visible on the glass. We know that iPhone passwords are 4 characters long, and by seeing where the fingerprints on the glass face line up with the “enter password” screen, we can pretty easily determine which 4 characters are being used. All we have to do then is try various combinations until we get the right one.

I’m not sure that cleanliness is next to godliness, but I can say that electronic cleanliness is a good security practice. Clean off your keyboards with a paper towel slightly dampened with alcohol every day. Wipe off the face of your iPhone or iPod with a lint-free or microfibre cloth daily.

Don’t let dirt compromise your security.

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Preventing data loss

Posted in: Recycling, Tips & Tricks, blog by Jack on 3 March 2009 | No Comments

For some time now we’ve been offering compatible film rolls for Panasonic and Brother fax machines. We can offer substantial savings compared to buying originals from the office supply store or the manufacturer online.

Brother fax film roll

There is a personal security issue involved with disposing of the used fax rolls, however, that most of our customers have been surprised to learn about. Just like carbon paper, these fax rolls retain a perfectly readable negative image of every fax received through the machine (faxes sent do not print out a copy and therefore do not leave an image on the film).

Think of the implications; a copy of every fax you’ve received on your fax machine is preserved and available to anyone who later finds that roll in the trash. Sepending on the type of business you conduct through faxing, the used roll of film may contain details of your bank accounts, mortgage, children’s name or schools, far too much information you do not want others to have access to.

I asked some friends who work in the field of physical security for their suggestions on how to destroy these rolls or make them unreadable. Since the technology involved is rather old (carbon paper was invented in the early 1800s and first produced commercially in the late 19th century), there are not many high-tech ways of dealing with it.

A few suggested feeding the roll through a paper shredder, though none of us were sure it wouldn’t wind up jamming the cutting teeth. I suspect the better quality shredders could deal with this, but cheaper models would likely choke on it.

Two of my friends said I should microwave the roll. I’m not positive what that might do to either the film or the microwave, thus I’m reluctant to experiment. If anyone has an old microwave and would like to try cooking a few sheets of carbon paper and reporting the results I’d be grateful. Just be very careful. I’m not responsible for injury or fire. Perhaps I should ask this of the Mythbusters.

Seriously, though, there must be a safe, environmentally friendly way to ensure the destruction of these rolls. Perhaps immersing them in a bucket of some sort of liquid (alcohol? Turpentine?) would make them unreadable.

Since I’m still not sure we’ve arrived at the best possible answer, I’m asking any of our readers to offer their own suggestions. Comment below and perhaps your’s will be the best solution for this. Meanwhile I’ll keep searching for a method I can recommend.

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Using an old printer with a new computer

Posted in: Tips & Tricks, blog by Jack on 27 January 2009 | No Comments

Do you have a few year old printer, one that you don’t see any need to replace? Have you recently purchased a new computer with Windows Vista pre-installed? Have you noticed that Vista doesn’t like your old printer?

One of the most frequent complaints about Vista is its limited hardware support. Vista ships with compatible drivers for many new peripherals, but it refuses to work with drivers written for XP or older versions of Windows. Many new computers are sold without parallel ports, so the only printers that can be added are those which connect via a USB cable, in other words newer printers.

Male/female parallel ports

Speed is the reason many manufacturers are changing over from parallel connections to USB.

Most computers and printers built in the last couple of years that retain the parallel port have gone from the standard parallel port to the enhanced parallel port (EPP). According to IEEE standard 1284, EPP can provide up to 2 Mbps bandwidth, approximately 15 times the speed achieved with normal parallel-port communication with far less CPU overhead. Then the USB port came along and raised the bar too high for parallel ports to compete.

USB 1.1 could transfer data at 12 Mbps while the current standard, USB 2.0, reaches theoretical speeds of 480 Mbps. Once computers are sold with supporting bus speeds and USB 3.0 becomes a reality (proposed for 2010) we could be looking at maximum data transfer speeds of 5.0 Gbps.

Obviously any operating system that expects to still be in use 5 years from now has to anticipate new technologies and, unfortunately in some cases, abandon old ones. The parallel port architecture is a thing of the past. Moving forward the only connections offered on a new computer will be USB and Firewire.

Still, there is hope for those of you determined to make your older printer work with Vista.

If you have Vista Ultimate (and possibly Business) version installed on your computer, go to Start\Run and enter gpedit.msc to launch the Group Policy Object Editor. Under Computer Configuration, double-click Administrative Templates and select Printers. In the right-hand pane, find the policy named Disallow installation of printers using kernel-mode drivers and double-click it. Set its status to Disabled. By disabling the disallow policy, you enable the use of kernel-mode drivers—twisted! Click OK, close Group Policy Editor, and reboot. The downside of this setting is that a badly written kernel-mode driver can crash your system; that’s what the policy was meant to prevent.

If you have Vista Home Premium installed, it does not include the Group Policy Editor. But we can still make the necessary change to allow Windows to work with an older printer, we just have to do so directly in the Registry. As always, remember to back up your Registry before making any changes, and make sure you follow the directions to the letter. All changes made to the Registry take effect immediate and there is no “undo” or go back option (except to restore a backup copy, which is why it’s essential to make one). Incorrect Registry changes can result in a useless operating system.

Click Start, click Run, enter regedit. Navigate to the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Printers. (Note that it’s the “Windows NT” key in there, not “Windows”). In the right-hand pane look for a value named KMPrintersAreBlocked. If it’s not present, right-click in the right-hand pane, select New | DWORD Value from the pop-up menu, and name the new value KMPrintersAreBlocked. Double-click that value and set its data to 0 (zero). Now reboot.